Birth control without prescription now available in NC

RALEIGH, NC — Women in North Carolina are now able to obtain birth control pills and patches from a pharmacy without a prescription.

The provision took effect Tuesday.

It is part of a broader law expanding certain pharmacists’ dispensing powers that was approved by the Republican-controlled General Assembly and signed by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper over the summer.

Emergency contraceptives were already available over the counter.

Harnett County Republican Sen. Jim Burgin championed the bill. He says the new law could prevent abortions in North Carolina.

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